I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess - Chapter 223



223 – Collide

Edgar, who was busy walking with his soldiers, hid behind a tree for a while.

This is because the enemies could be seen moving around busily as if they were trying to find someone.

‘Have we already been caught?’

I knew that I couldn’t hide myself forever when I was moving so suddenly.

But the timing was somewhat strange. If Leonel’s deception had worked just a moment ago, it would still be normal if the vigilance index was low.

The only possibility was if the identities of Leonel and other soldiers were revealed, but time was too fast for that to happen.

‘Or maybe Albrich noticed.’

It is quite possible.

In any case, the news that an intruder had come in would have reached their ears.

However, although Leonel falsely reported that all enemies had been killed in order to stop the pursuit, their leadership may have given an order to search for any remaining troops.

Whatever the reason, it is a very cumbersome situation from this point of view.

From now on, every minute and every second is a waste.

However, it would be virtually impossible to move while completely hiding from the tighter security.

In the end, you have to choose.

A significant number of troops remain to fight here, pretend as if there are no more reinforcements, and take advantage of the opportunity to go straight to the castle.

Or do we pour all our power into this and push it into a mobile war?

Both are not bad choices.

In fact, the safer method would be the former, but then there would be no commander to command them.

In Gale’s case, he was commanding the opposing soldiers who were divided into two.

‘There’s nothing we can do.’

Edgar, who was looking at the guard troops wandering outside the bushes with sharp eyes, pulled out the sword strapped to his belt.

The already insufficient troops were divided in half. In any case, if you cannot head to the castle with all your strength intact, your chances of winning will be diminished.

In that case, it would have been better for him to open this exit with his own hands.

“I feel sorry for everyone. Because things were different from what we expected, we ended up having to race to the castle.”

Edgar smiled bitterly and handed an apple to the soldiers who were looking at him.

Since I had thought from the beginning that nothing would go as expected from the beginning of this war, it was relatively smooth, but I felt sorry for the soldiers who were going to have to suffer from now on.

At this, the soldiers smiled and chuckled even though the situation was not particularly funny.

“Isn’t that what a battlefield is supposed to be? Still, I feel comfortable at this level thanks to the commander’s efforts, so I have to get to work from now on.”

“You’re right. “It’s just that Sir Edgar hasn’t experienced much battlefield experience yet, but it’s just everyday life for us.”

The soldiers strengthened their will for a decisive battle by tightly holding on to their favorite weapons.

Anyway, those who live on this earth treat each day as if it were their last.

At best, I didn’t even blink in a situation like this.

“First of all, I stand in the lead. It’s a pity that there are no words, but we can somehow secure mobility with magic.”

Although he was not as fluent in all magic as Ariel, he was able to use simple magic for battle.

Among them, there was a magic that temporarily increased stamina and agility.

When I used it by myself in the past, I was able to run for an hour without losing stamina. Although the aftereffects are a bit severe.

“Are you sure you don’t mind? Commander. “If you use magic on all of us, you’ll get tired quickly.”

“With this number, it will be okay.”

There was one soldier who expressed concern about this, but Edgar smiled and nodded.

Honestly, I can’t guarantee. Even though it had been used as a test in the past, there were at most about 20 people at that time.

Moreover, this time, you have to fight an intense battle to maintain it, so the difficulty level goes up through the roof.

‘But I still have to do it.’

But what can you do?

If I had tried to quit thinking it would be difficult, I wouldn’t have even tackled this job.

We have to do it somehow. It’s not a question of whether or not you can, it’s a must.

“Run like this to the castle. Be careful so that no one gets left behind along the way.”

“Yes!”

The soldiers’ cries were low and loud, filling the forest.

At this, Edgar stood up, raising one corner of his mouth, and quietly chanted while holding out his sword.

“Dexterium.”

At the same time, the light blue waves spreading from beneath his feet reached everyone.

After confirming this, Edgar’s calm expression from a moment ago disappeared and he walked out of the bush with a solemn look on his face, as if he was ready for his death.

Now it has really begun.

*

“This is a report! Multiple enemies appear from the east! It is said that they are advancing towards the castle at incredible speed!”

Carlos, the commander of the Bertus family who guarded the forest, opened his eyes wide at the urgent report.

They were already searching for the remaining troops of possible enemies according to instructions from above, but they apparently decided that it would be difficult to hide any longer and launched a surprise attack.

“It appears that, as you said, there were some remaining troops. But did you even hide the words?”

“Oh, no. It looks like he’s using magic to run barefoot. But the speed is unusual…”

“It’s actually become more of a hassle. If it were a horse, it would have been better to just drop it.”

Even if they had used Armman magic, they wouldn’t have the speed of a cavalry force, but it might be just as difficult to take them down.

The cavalry often collapses even if just one or two horses are knocked down, but that is not the case with the infantry.

Anyway, it seemed like I could only come up with a solution if I saw the situation myself.

“I will lead the soldiers and go there myself. “Let me give the report to Your Excellency right away.”

“I will follow your orders!”

After giving orders to the soldiers, Carlos immediately rode his horse and headed to the scene.

‘We’ll have to stop it as quickly as possible.’

This forest does not continue all the way, but after a certain point, a flat road continues all the way to the castle.

Of course, although it is said to be flat, it is not a continuous plain and you have to climb a somewhat sloping slope, but instead, there are no structures blocking the way.

If they go beyond that point, it would actually be impossible to chase after them.

If so, we have to stop it here somehow.

‘As expected, you are having quite a hard time.’

Carlos, who was watching the enemies running through the forest from the hillside, frowned at the battle that was taking place as expected.

Running through a forest may result in reduced mobility compared to running through a plain, but the problem is that it is difficult to easily see what is on the other side from here.

Perhaps because of this, the archers were unable to perform at all and the enemy’s movements were not restrained.

“Leave only a small number of archers, and the remaining archers should go up to higher ground and support! “Follow me with reinforcements, and instruct the soldiers scattered around to block the rear in case the defeated ones retreat!”

In response to Carlos ‘order, his adjutant remonstrated with a pale complexion.

“Huh, but Commander! If that happens, the troops will be dispersed!”

“There is a possibility that this is not the enemy’s full strength. It would be necessary to block reinforcements and block the rear just in case. Just in case, let’s continue the search!”

“Yes, yep!”

This forest is so vast.

It wouldn’t be too strange if one or two more units were hidden somewhere.

Perhaps the enemies currently waging a blitzkrieg are just deceiving themselves, and may take advantage of this opportunity to concentrate their forces in one area to strengthen their offensive elsewhere.

What’s the point if you can easily send enemies from other places all the way to the castle just to stop the enemy in front of you?

In the first place, his mission was not to protect this forest, but to block intruders from this forest to the castle.

“Let’s go! You must never let anyone invade the castle!”

“Yes!”

With a loud answer and the soldiers following him, Carlos walked around the forest path and blocked the enemy’s path.

Looking at the movement route, it seemed like they had some idea of the structure of this forest, but they couldn’t have known it better than the commander of this forest.

– Stop it!

-There it is! Run a little more!

As Carlos was staring into the dark forest path as it was still just before dawn, he could only hear multiple voices from afar, with no enemies in sight.

Soon, the sun slowly appeared to his left, and the surrounding area began to become brighter, bathed in reddish sunlight.

At the same time, a large group of people were spotted on the opposite side of where Carlos was staring, and the first thing he saw was a man running from the front holding a sword.

‘I thought I was caught red-handed. Well, that’s a rare color.’

The hair of the young man who appeared to be the commander appeared red for a moment due to the sunlight, but when I squinted and looked closely, I soon realized that he had black hair.

Carlos put all his strength into the hand holding the sword and ordered the surrounding soldiers to gather thickly in a narrow spot to form an encirclement, rather than spreading out as wide as possible to both sides.

That’s because it felt like the other person had no intention of slowing down even if they pretended.

Perhaps, in the worst case, they may rush in like this and implement a one-point breakthrough.

Taking that into account, the chances of the current siege being breached would be relatively low.

‘It wouldn’t be good to let down your guard just because you look young.’

Looking at the enemy commander in the lead, Carlos strengthened his will.

Even though I was looking at it from this far away, the feeling of intimidation was no joke.

I don’t know if it’s simply magical pressure, but it means that you’re not someone to look down on just because you look young.

On the battlefield, a moment’s intention can always cost one’s life.

“Archer! Get ready!”

“Yes!”

First, in order to slow down the speed of the running opponent even a little, Carlos gave an order to the archers lined up behind him.

Although we weren’t able to bring a large number, it would have been a good result to take down just one or two soldiers coming from the front.

Of course, cutting off the enemy general’s head would be the best thing.

“Shoot!”

Piyung-!

Following his shout, the arrows aimed left the field and rushed towards the enemy.

Carlos, who was curious about how the enemies would react to this, did not take his eyes off.

From noble mtl dot come

Finally, the moment the arrow reached the enemies’ heads, his eyes widened.

Suddenly!

The huge light that emanated from the sword of the man in the lead became a blade and cut down the arrows that rained down like hail from the sky.

‘Auror Blade!’

I didn’t think he was an ordinary guy, but could it be that he was that talented?

Carlos realized that his hand holding the sword was automatically strengthened by the unexpected appearance of the big man.

Among the knight commanders of the Empire, there were only a handful that he could remember who could freely wield such a clear Auror blade.

But there was no time to admire.

The enemy had already arrived in front of us, and his eyes were shining brightly with the intention of breaking through this siege at any moment.

Carlos acknowledged himself as less powerful than his opponent, and yet he vowed to somehow protect this place.

Chang!

Soon, the enemy’s sword, which was emitting clear mana, and Carlos’ sword, which was slightly inferior, but emitting blue mana, collided in the air.

“!”

Carlos bit his lip as he realized that the moment he blocked the sword, his body his would crash down.

In this way, the battle between those trying to block and those trying to break through has finally begun.